Being on a plateau, even if the eagle being piloted has not yet spread its wings, the surface altitude has already exceeded 3500 meters. When Huang Xinglei, a helicopter pilot from a certain brigade of the 77th Group Army, participated in training, he flew at altitudes mostly within 1000 meters, making him a true "low altitude falcon". Can it fly? Do you dare to fly! ”The engine roared and the iron wings flew, and the commander of the brigade tower confirmed with Huang Xinglei. Through the cockpit glass, Huang Xinglei gave a thumbs up and said, "Yes! Dare!" Successfully passing this test flight, Huang Xinglei will have the opportunity to step into the ranks of "high-altitude pilots". As the altimeter pointer kept jumping, Huang Xinglei piloted the helicopter and challenged it to an altitude that had never been flown before. The tower commander told reporters that since the adjustment and formation of the troops, they have closely focused on mission tasks, continuously innovated and researched relevant tactical tactics, explored the ultimate performance of weapons and equipment, honed the combat capabilities of officers and soldiers, and accelerated the transformation from "low altitude falcons" to "high-altitude eagles". Watching Huang Xinglei pilot the war eagle to fly higher and disappear into the clouds, helicopters followed closely behind, creating brilliant trajectories in the long sky. On the snowy mountain, a fully winged steel "eagle formation" is soaring with its wings flapping. Following the flight "is the conscious action of generations of" pioneers ". This is a perilous flight. The sky on the plateau changes at will. Before takeoff, the sky was still clear, but halfway through the training course, the weather in the flight area suddenly changed, and thick cumulonimbus clouds quickly formed, blurring the view outside the cabin. At this moment, the pilot Su Jie's flying formation was crossing a plateau canyon that was only a few tens of meters wide. Without visual reference, these pilots seem to be "dancing with their eyes closed on the tip of a knife", and the difficulty can be imagined. Don't be afraid, fly with me! ”The radio equipment transmitted the steady voice of the formation captain and pilot Ye Jianfei. Su Jie steadied his mind and controlled the fighter jet to follow the flight. Just like this, Su Jie bit the front plane and after dozens of minutes of instrument flight, he finally flew the plane out of the canyon. The flight parameters show that during this range, the fighter jet he piloted was only about 10 meters away from the cliff in the mountains. Follow the flight "- Su Jie said, he had heard this sentence many times since entering this heroic army. More than 30 years ago, the predecessor unit of the brigade was established. Not long after, the first batch of pilots from the unit received a daunting task - to open up China's first high-altitude helicopter route from inland to snowy areas. Without meteorological data and precise charts... After receiving the mission, the senior pilots faced complex weather conditions and adopted the most primitive dual aircraft formation method - veteran pilots with longer party experience piloting long aircraft painted with striking military flags to explore ahead; Young pilots pilot wingmen, closely monitoring the long aircraft and following behind, these 'pioneers' have forcefully created a new route in the' restricted flight zone '. Following the guidance of the military flag, becoming a steadfast belief and conscious action for generations of pilots to follow orders and move forward fearlessly. Over 30 years, in the blink of an eye. Guo Bin, the young man who "followed the flight" back then, is now a top-level pilot; Some of his comrades who once flew side by side with him rest peacefully on this high-altitude route opened with their lives. If what we conquered back then was the practical problem of 'whether we can fly to the plateau', now we are facing the practical test of 'whether we can fly well on the plateau, whether we can win or not'. ”As a senior expert in the field of high-altitude flight throughout the country, Guo Bin has taught dozens of "high-altitude pilots" in recent years. With the adjustment and reform of the troops in recent years, the mission and tasks of the brigade have shifted from support and support to main combat use. This is a new 'pioneering' for us, "Guo Bin said. Where is the high-altitude performance limit of weapons and equipment, how to apply land and air warfare methods on the plateau, and how to better integrate into the joint operation chain... Guo Bin said that in order to solve these problems, in recent years, the brigade has been stationed on the plateau for training, with each altitude increasing; Sending commanders to neighboring troops for learning and training, with the number increasing year by year; Organize pilots to exchange with high-altitude troops, with each exchange taking longer and longer. He took out his work notes and told the reporter, "In recent years, apart from vacations, I have spent a long time on the plateau with different crew members." Regarding Guo Bin's statement, "Highland Captain" Wang Jianglin deeply agreed. Last summer, his unit was responsible for carrying infantry to conduct training on the tactics of a high-altitude land air joint operation. Faced with unfamiliar terrain and airspace, he repeatedly studied maneuvering methods and surveyed landing sites with infantry commanders, while exploring the technical performance limits of helicopters with crew members. Our mission is on the plateau, and we must hone our flying skills to become more proficient. ”It's another training season, and the troops of the brigade split into multiple routes and flew to the top of the snow capped mountains again. Wang Jianglin also followed the training team to another plateau airspace that he had never set foot in before to "explore". When it comes to this matter, he sighed and said, "The military flag guides us, and the war eagle follows closely. This is our unchanging responsibility and commitment." "No problem," it is the promise of a group of "promoters". "No problem, we can take off! ”Early in the morning on the plateau, before another routine flight training, mechanic Ren Qiubing stood under the helicopter rotor and made a release gesture to pilot Wang Lingxiao, indicating that the helicopter was checking for accuracy. Upon seeing this, Wang Lingxiao extended a military salute to Ren Qiubing through the cockpit glass. The tradition of exchanging military salute between pilots and mechanics has been passed down for many years in this brigade. Pilots are well aware that their soaring into the sky cannot be achieved without the full support of mechanics. The significance of this salute is particularly different - just a few hours ago at dawn, Ren Qiubing, who was performing a routine pre flight inspection task, identified a malfunction in the helicopter battery through a small gap in a certain part of the helicopter. After inspection, Ren Qiubing found that the rapid consumption of electrolyte caused battery failure. He quickly checked the registration book and found that the battery had not been filled with electrolyte for long; During the last routine inspection before the flight, the electrolyte of the battery remained in a "good" condition. It is the high-altitude environment that causes the rapid consumption of electrolyte. ”After completing the analysis, Ren Qiubing and his comrades immediately began repairs, and by the end, the East had turned pale. After rechecking, he confidently assured Wang Lingxiao that the promise of "no problem" was related to the safety of the crew members' lives and equipment. The plateau is like this, it will set imperceptible traps in unexpected places. ”Air mechanic Liu Yi told reporters, "Unlike low altitude areas, the special climate conditions such as low temperature, low pressure, and strong ultraviolet radiation in the plateau will have varying degrees of impact on the performance of helicopter equipment, and also put forward higher standards for our inspection, maintenance, and repair." Therefore, for them, going to bed at midnight and getting up at dawn every day has become the norm. Qi Chaoyong, a mechanic, told reporters that many of them were deeply "imprinted" by the plateau in order to lift the war eagle to soar. Mechanical engineer Peng Xinke worked under the scorching sun for several years, his skin tanned from the sun; Li Long, a mechanic, has been working at low temperatures for a long time and has frostbite on his hands; Station technician Li Lianggui was affected by the hypoxic environment and suffered from chronic altitude sickness... Despite this, they ran tirelessly under the rotor for the promise of "no problem". In order to make daily maintenance more comprehensive, most of them have memorized several thick maintenance manuals and made drawing various circuit diagrams and mechanical diagrams a basic skill for their job. How to solve the problem of high-altitude flight support? ”In recent years, the officers and soldiers of the brigade have extensively carried out mass independent innovation activities. To solve the problems of shortened service life and increased uncontrollable maintenance factors of some parts under high-altitude conditions, avionics technician Zhu Zishuai spent nearly 2 years collecting performance data of dozens of different parts during daily maintenance inspections, and completed the "Helicopter Parts High Altitude Condition Performance Curve Chart". Moreover, innovative achievements such as transmission shaft disassembly devices continue to emerge in the brigade. On a day off, the reporter walked into a certain locomotive maintenance camp. I thought officers and soldiers would use their rest time to relax and adjust, but unexpectedly many people were reading relevant professional books in the study room. Speaking of this matter, Lu Jianhong, a college student soldier who had just joined the maintenance camp, said with deep emotion: "Targeting the needs of the battlefield, having a solid professional foundation, and a 'no problem' commitment can provide even more assurance." "Let me do it" is the relentless pursuit of a "hawk tamer". This is a seemingly impossible task. During a training session last year, the brigade fought on the "Roof of the World". Faced with the aerial firepower strike task given by the guidance and adjustment team, many pilots encountered difficulties for a moment - the target was located on the opposite slope of a high mountain, and in order to complete the strike, they had to fly over the top of the mountain. After calculation, the highest point of this towering mountain has exceeded the maximum helicopter lift limit. What should we do? A pilot clenched his fists and said, "Let me try, I will die to complete the mission!" While the spirit of "not afraid of sacrifice" is commendable, "blindly taking risks" is not advisable - on the battlefield, "saving oneself" is equally important as "eliminating the enemy". Let me do it! ”At a critical moment, the commander of the drone squadron of the brigade, Meng Yongdong, stood up and reported, "If the mountain cannot be reached by 'riding the eagle', 'controlling the eagle' should be feasible." Then, several drones took off in the wind and whistled towards the target. Recovering from the shocking scene in front of him, the journalist had a question in his mind: Is this still the traditional impression of the land and air force? The army is still the same army, it's just that this team has many unmanned aerial vehicle operators for 'Eagle Hunt Battle'. ”Meng Yongdong said that in recent years, the role of drones in modern warfare has become increasingly important. After adjustment and reform, the brigade has established a drone squadron. The "Eagle Rider" came to the unit. As the initial novelty gradually faded, some pilots put forward different views on their existence: "In the land aviation force, UAVs are still supporting role." At first, Du Gaowen, the UAV operator, also thought so. In daily training and tactics research, he focuses on courses such as aerial reconnaissance. Even when there is a conflict in the air route, he takes the initiative to make concessions and give the airspace to "real pilots" to use. However, as the brigade delved deeper into high-altitude warfare, some pilots began to realize that drones were capable of doing things they couldn't do themselves. Before the start of a flight mission, the visibility in a certain airspace on the plateau suddenly decreased, making it impossible to meet the conditions for helicopter flight. The pilot Lan Xiaocheng was so anxious that he turned around. Later, the drone quickly took off and ultimately completed the mission on his behalf. Experiences like this forced me to re-examine this group of 'eagle hunters'. ”Lan Xiaocheng told reporters, "With the increasing complexity of combat missions and the evolution of war forms, we need to abandon our old thinking and actively embrace 'new comrades'." In this way, batches of pilots began to enter unmanned aerial vehicle teams as' newcomers' to learn and train, from the principles of unmanned aerial vehicle flight to weapon platform performance, from equipment operation methods to practical application of combat methods... Through such role changes, they gradually formed a' manned unmanned 'joint combat thinking, and then cooperated more closely with' unmanned comrades'. At the same time, in subsequent training tasks, more and more officers and soldiers of unmanned aerial vehicle teams began to carry out tasks together with pilots. During a live combat training, the transport helicopter formation of the brigade encountered armed helicopters playing opponents from a distance in the air. Slow "versus" fast ", the" camel team "meets the" hunter ". In theory, the transport helicopter formation has no chance of winning this battle.